Ten Acre, the multi award winning ‘Free From Plus’ crisp and popcorn brand recently turned three – they’ve come a long way in that time. ‘Free From Plus’ has defined products that are great tasting plus: gluten, dairy, MSG and GMO free, as well as vegetarian and vegan certified - and all but two flavours are allergen free too.

Ahead of the game

Yumsh Snacks Ltd, the creators of the revolutionary Ten Acre brand, were ahead of the ‘free from’ trend nearly four years ago. They spotted the opportunity to meet the growing needs of consumers, for a snack to suit everyone. After intensive development and manufacturing set-up; their ‘Free From Plus’ snacks hit the market in 2014.

The three Ten Acre founders were adamant that their new products would be great tasting and suitable for everyone.

Where Ten Acre add even more value is in their leadership in the ‘Free From Plus’ category; which has proved their vision again and again with the ever increasing rise of gluten free, dairy free and plant based diets. Many products tick only one of these consumer requirements but Ten Acre made sure that they covered everything right from the start – and they remain market leaders in this all-encompassing category. A category that CEO Tony Goodman, predicts will simply be what consumers expect of all products as much as is possible.

Growing World Over

The brand also saw that there was scope for Ten Acre way beyond the UK borders. In 2015 they started exploring the export opportunity – and they have exported to 45+ countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, America and Africa.

Ten Acre recently announced a new distribution deal which will take their snacks to Canada, the new contract is estimated to be worth £200,000 a year. This news came as Prime Minister Theresa May met businesses and investors during a trip to strengthen trade ties with Canada in September 2017.

Prime Minister Theresa May said: “It’s great news that Ten Acre have won this deal to supply their unique products throughout Western Canada. We know there’s a strong global demand for high-quality food and drink from the UK and I want to see more firms building links in lucrative markets such as Canada and the United States.”

Chart Topping Snacks

They have also been busy closer to home. In May this year the premium snack brand collaborated with Manchester’s iconic indie rock band, The Charlatans, to produce an exclusive version of their hand cooked crisps. The partnership came to fruition after Tim Burgess, legendary frontman of The Charlatans, searched for a local crisp brand, discovered Ten Acre and came up with an idea…

The limited edition crisp collection celebrated the launch of The Charlatans' new album, and is called Ten Acre Crisps Nine Acre Court - a nod to their hit from the 90s. The exclusive collaboration features two flavours of hand cooked crisps – ‘The Secret of Mr Salt’ and ‘The Amazing Adventures of Salt and Vinegar’ – in bespoke packets.

Award Winners Three years on and the stars are rolling in both at home and abroad. Ten Acre scooped another two stars for new products, in the prestigious Great Taste Awards 2017. It means that their range of hand cooked crisps and popcorn now has a total of 10 Great Taste accolades. Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the world's largest and most trusted food and drink awards - the 'Oscars' for the fine food and drink industry. More than 400 judges working in small teams, blind tasted 10,000 products - each one vying for an award.

In 2016 Ten Acre were announced winners at the Belgian Inn’awards for food and innovation. They were crowned the number one food product with ‘Cousin Penelope’s Strawberry & Cream’ popcorn.

Fictional Fantasy

Wherever you are in the world and whatever your dietary needs, not only do you get a great tasting packet of crisps or popcorn with Ten Acre, you are also invited into their eccentric fictional world. Each packet has a unique story behind their name, all derived from characters who live in the idyllic Ten Acre Village. The whimsical world of Ten Acre can be explored on their website www.tenacresnacks.com where you can visit the interactive village, meet the inhabitants and read their engaging stories.

Tony Goodman, CEO of Yumsh Snacks Ltd explains: “‘Free From Plus’ is revolutionary, but the concept seemed so obvious at the time. At Ten Acre we believe that the criteria that we set out for our products when we launched in 2014, will be the criteria by which many mainstream products are benchmarked. If great tasting products can cater to a household of dietary and lifestyle choices, they will be the products of consumer choice.”